The fate of Ashdod-Yam was always connected to the capital city of Ashdod, one of the five major Philistine cities during the Iron Age. After Ashdod revolted against the Assyrians in the late 8th century B.C., the army of the Neo-Assyrian king Sargon II took over the cities Ashdod, Gath and Asdudimmu; the latter is identified with the site of Ashdod-Yam (Ashdod-by-the-Sea).